Considering my career goals, it would be really disingenuous for me to apply for a Stein.Good luck to everyone else though

LOL DB, to be honest it might even hurt them.... I can see it now, "well sure Mr. Bat, you're number 1 in your class but you seem to be focusing on PI. Heck, we notice you interned last year with the Bronx PD office. So, are you sure you aren't just using us as a stepping stone to the USDA's office?"

My understanding is that Stein is for people interested in Public Interest.Well, I have no interest in the public

Just kidding. It's just that my area of focus is not what would be considered PI and I wouldn't feel right applying for a PI scholarship.

And you are correct which is in fact what I want to do so I gave it a shot.... We will see.

Fordham's loan request forms for Federal Unsubsidized and Plus loans are on their website. All you need is the FIDN that you can find on the my.fordham.edu website. And you need to have completed the entrance counseling and MPN for both loans.

JenDarby wrote:Did you guys already have your stein interviews? Make sure the people like you and you get across a CLEAR dedication to public interest and you should be good.

I haven't yet Jen but since I was late to apply and of course a late admit I was also behind getting the Steins application material in.... Are they in person or telephone or does it depend where we are? I can always get to NY for the day if needed.

Make sure they like me???? Heh, Isn't that one of they do or they don't things?

JenDarby wrote:Did you guys already have your stein interviews? Make sure the people like you and you get across a CLEAR dedication to public interest and you should be good.

I haven't yet Jen but since I was late to apply and of course a late admit I was also behind getting the Steins application material in.... Are they in person or telephone or does it depend where we are? I can always get to NY for the day if needed.

Make sure they like me???? Heh, Isn't that one of they do or they don't things?

They are in person. You don't have to be in NY, though having your interview elsewhere may affect the number of interviewers you have, which can ultimately affect your acceptance. Someone I know was interviewed in Hawaii and was only able to have one interviewer. Everyone I know who was interviewed in NY had three. I don't think you are behind the game timewise. If I remember right the interviews and decisions don't happen until summertime (soon) anyway.

JenDarby wrote:Did you guys already have your stein interviews? Make sure the people like you and you get across a CLEAR dedication to public interest and you should be good.

I haven't yet Jen but since I was late to apply and of course a late admit I was also behind getting the Steins application material in.... Are they in person or telephone or does it depend where we are? I can always get to NY for the day if needed.

Make sure they like me???? Heh, Isn't that one of they do or they don't things?

They are in person. You don't have to be in NY, though having your interview elsewhere may affect the number of interviewers you have, which can ultimately affect your acceptance. Someone I know was interviewed in Hawaii and was only able to have one interviewer. Everyone I know who was interviewed in NY had three. I don't think you are behind the game timewise. If I remember right the interviews and decisions don't happen until summertime (soon) anyway.

Fordham's loan request forms for Federal Unsubsidized and Plus loans are on their website. All you need is the FIDN that you can find on the my.fordham.edu website. And you need to have completed the entrance counseling and MPN for both loans.

JenDarby wrote:Did you guys already have your stein interviews? Make sure the people like you and you get across a CLEAR dedication to public interest and you should be good.

I haven't yet Jen but since I was late to apply and of course a late admit I was also behind getting the Steins application material in.... Are they in person or telephone or does it depend where we are? I can always get to NY for the day if needed.

Make sure they like me???? Heh, Isn't that one of they do or they don't things?

They are in person. You don't have to be in NY, though having your interview elsewhere may affect the number of interviewers you have, which can ultimately affect your acceptance. Someone I know was interviewed in Hawaii and was only able to have one interviewer. Everyone I know who was interviewed in NY had three. I don't think you are behind the game timewise. If I remember right the interviews and decisions don't happen until summertime (soon) anyway.

Thanks Jen. As always you are a great resource and help......

I had 4 interviewers in-person at the law school and I was told that they wouldn't be making decisions until July if that helps any

ned wrote:Sorry if this is a dumb question: Just to be clear on the Stein Scholars thing, am I correct that the main benefits are 1) peer and mentor support and 2) funded summer internships?

I'm interested in PI, but my financial situation requires maximizing my salary so my goal is biglaw. So I stayed away from Stein. Was that the right decision?

Also, regarding public service and nonprofit debt forgiveness, I'm not confident I'd ever get to the end of that rainbow.

If you do Stein you HAVE to do public interest. There is some "prestige" if you are certain about PI, and you do get summer funding.

If you don't do stein, but decide you want PI you can still get 4k by helping the Fordham Student Scholarship Foundation. It's not a huge time commitment at all, and the auction they hold is fun.

I don't think this is entirely true, I've seen associates on both large and small firm websites that have Stein Scholars mentioned in their biographies.

I do believe you're required to do public interest your first summer, but it is my understanding that most people do that anyway. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I didn't see anything in their documentation that suggested a PI internship 2L summer or career was mandatory.

While government work is what I truly want to do, with hiring so bad I wouldn't be opposed to working in a firm for 3-5 years until something better came along if my choices were that or unemployment and I can't see why the school would have an interest in preventing people from taking any job offered to them.

I apologize if my post was unclear, I figured the next part about summer jobs made it pretty clear. You must do PI for your summer internships. I did not pursue stein so I will not say for certain you must do PI your 2L summer, but my stein friends made it seem like that was the case. I'd suggest contacting an admin if that is crucial for your decision.

Many people do PI their 1L year, but a fair amount also do firm internships (especially if you can manage a paid one - it IS possible).

The point of Stein IS to promote PI work. I am glad I am working at a firm this summer and opted not to interview for Stein. It's really just a personal decision in the end.

Edit: my main purpose was to promote FSSF. 4k for your 1L summer if you do any PI/gov work. It's worth putting in the time for it even if you WANT a firm job 1L, since you may not get one, and "free" money is always nice.

Last edited by JenDarby on Wed Jun 20, 2012 2:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

"Stein Scholars are required to do an externship during the summer after their first year and attend a Stein section of the summer externship seminar (there is an "out-of-town section) that includes readings and discussions related to the externship for which they receive two academic credits. First-year students are supported by a stipend of $4,000.

Second-year and third-year evening division Stein Scholars may opt to do a summer externship and receive stipends of $5,000 for their second or third placement."

The point worth noting is that if biglaw is your goal, Fordham does far better than its USNews ranking would indicate.All employment data I've seen basically points to the fact that the upside of a Fordham degree is worth the downside risk IMO

A quick weigh in-- my friends in Stein really enjoyed the program, and to be sure, the mentoring/support helps. I was not in the running at all when I applied to law school, given a background very far from PI. Without Stein, I scrounged up PI opportunities with other PIRC orgs and was on the board of FSSF before I graduated-- I was able to get stipends both summers that way, and will be going into PI now. I absolutely recommend Stein or FSSF if you are thinking about PI-- the support is very much there, if you are looking to find it. PIRC itself is outstanding. Only caveat is that you may have to prove you are serious about public service work if you are making a career 180, as I was. Take the very first pro bono opportunity you are handed, and run with it!

As an aside, I am hoping PI hiring will be in better shape by the time your class graduates. You do have to make your own opportunities, quite literally, by going out and finding fellowships or other funded positions with nonprofits, but once upon a time, organizations directly hired staff attorneys, and they will do so again as funding allows.

The point worth noting is that if biglaw is your goal, Fordham does far better than its USNews ranking would indicate.All employment data I've seen basically points to the fact that the upside of a Fordham degree is worth the downside risk IMO

Also, just noticed Fordham jumped to 17 this year from 20 the year before. Kudos FLS!

The point worth noting is that if biglaw is your goal, Fordham does far better than its USNews ranking would indicate.All employment data I've seen basically points to the fact that the upside of a Fordham degree is worth the downside risk IMO

Also, just noticed Fordham jumped to 17 this year from 20 the year before. Kudos FLS!

The point worth noting is that if biglaw is your goal, Fordham does far better than its USNews ranking would indicate.All employment data I've seen basically points to the fact that the upside of a Fordham degree is worth the downside risk IMO

Also, just noticed Fordham jumped to 17 this year from 20 the year before. Kudos FLS!